into the woods

given that the longwood gardens series (onetwo and three) are collectively the most viewed series of posts on this blog, its apparent that people like their nature shots cute and fluffy. but that’s not really what you’re thinking when you go into the woods though, is it? you don’t want to hug that ivy. you don’t want to lick that shroom. actually, I can think of a few of my friends who would hug that ivy and lick that shroom. I guess this post is for you.

part of this photographic exploration came about because I was debating what to do when shooting in harsh mid-day mid-summer sun. unless you bring along a light diffuser (which I am not about to start doing on hiking trips), you are inevitably going to end up with overly contrasty photos that look hard and harsh. if you expose for the highlights, half the image will be lost in black. if you expose for the shadows, the other half will be blown way out. if you expose halfway … murky crap all around.

rather than bemoan the lack of sufficient dynamic range in digital sensors (I think there’s plenty), I chose to gun for the brights and further exaggerate the harshness of the light and shadow. this is what nature looks like to hansel and gretel.